Ya know what amazes me? Not only have we become a debtor nation

[Rex]

but now we have a huge industry (debt consolidation companies) that makes money off of us as they help us manage payments to companies who loaned us the money in the first place.

I'm glad I have no credit cards, but it's gonna be hell next year when I go to buy a new car. That's another thing, a person is no longer defined by how honest of a worker they are (work hard and go far) but by if they borrow money from a huge faceless company & pay it back on time.

Rule one of fight club - there is no fight club.

[unblock]

1. #1 rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club

the first rule of fight club is: you do not talk about fight club.
the second rule of fight club is: you DO NOT TALK about fight club.
third rule of fight club: someone yells "stop!", goes limp, taps out, the fight is over.
fourth rule: only two guys to a fight.
fifth rule: one fight at a time, fellas.
sixth rule: no shirt, no shoes.
seventh rule: fights will go on as long as they have to.
and the eighth and final rule: if this is your first night at fight club ... you HAVE to fight.

[Arianrhod]

2. The ultimate economic goal

of the "neo"Cons is to concentrate all the world's wealth (yes, I do mean the entire world) in the hands of a small cabal of American ruling elites. Everything and everyone in this Weltanschauung is defined in terms of money. By keeping the average person's wages low, they keep us focused on survival and distracted from what they are doing. And by feeding us our own incomes several times in a cycle of debt and consolidation and phony "tax cuts", they permit us to feel as though we are "good money managers", thus keeping alive the myth that we might yet pull ourselves up into a higher class. There are several memes being floated over the decades that reinforce these concepts and maintain the illusion: "deadbeat", "welfare queen", "voluntary homeless", "invasive government". The twisting of the label "Liberal" into something evil and unamerican was their greatest achievement, as the term encompasses all of the compassionate policies that enable people to genuinely raise their standard of living. And marrying the concept of Social Darwinism to Christianity was their crowning stroke.

I believe the key to getting ourselves out of this Samsaric mess is to find ways in our personal lives to undermine the kind of society this cabal is building.

[Indiana_Dem]

3. Debt-free and self-sustaining.

That's a difficult thing to do these days but it's imperative. Alot of us will have to do alot of reprioritizing and learning. It will take time for those who want to do it especially when all forces are working against it, if you understand what I mean.

[Arianrhod]

5. Yes, it is difficult.

I'm certainly not there yet, myself. But those of us who can must take the steps. It will make a difference.

[w4rma]

4. The Saudi Royal family isn't American. (nt)